Herbie Rides Again!

One of the biggest House Sitting compliments is when you’re asked to come back “same time, same place” next year. This time last year we house sat for Herbie the cat and Tommy the tortoise in a lovely Turkish village home in the hills between Yalikavak and Gundogan, about 10km from our own home, and this year we’re back again.

It’s usually hot in this part of Turkey during August, it’s one of the hottest months, but this August is exceptionally hot. Not only is it hot (90-100f) – but it’s incredibly humid too. I keep standing up to do things and then get overwhelmed with fatigue and have to sit back down again.

I haven’t done much today except water the garden and feed Herbie.

The only time Herbie moves is when he hears his food cupboard opening. The rest of the time he’s lounging on the patio, trying to keep cool.

Poor chap, it must be so hot in his furry coat, but he’s been making the most of the shade and stretching out to make sure he stays cool. He’s a chatty cat, and I wonder if he remembers us from last year.

One of the neighbors was making the most of the baking heat by drying her red chilis and green peppers in the sun.

The most enticing element of a Turkish breakfast is that harmony of salty and sweet flavors that tickle your palette, and entice you to keep eating when your stomach has already admitted defeat.

Other than two Turkish breakfast restaurants, the only other business in the upper part of this village we’re staying in is a small mosque.

I love hearing the call to prayer each day, and that’s just as well because the mosque is nearby so there’s no getting away from it.

There’s also a small shop, and a weekly produce market that consists of village women squatting at the side of the road with their garden bounty laid out on a table cloth; a man selling melons from the back of his van, and another selling Turkish carpets out of another.

Local Bus stop in the village

Even though the village is a bit off the beaten path, there’s an hourly bus service that takes us to nearby Yalikavak where there’s a whole slew of shops, restaurants and businesses.

One added benefit (?) this year is the occurrence of aftershocks. There was a 6.3 earthquake off the coast of Bodrum/Kos a couple of weeks ago and there have been aftershocks happening ever since. Last night I felt at least three earthquakes, and one was reported as a 5.3 — that seems pretty big for an aftershock. I wonder how they determine what is an aftershock and what is a just a new quake?

Other than this nightly shake, rattle and roll action, life is pretty chilled in this neck of the woods. I’m getting lots of writing done, and have seen quite a few interesting house sits on Trusted Housesitters that I’ve applied for. I wonder where we’re heading next?

If you had a choice of your ideal house sit location, what type of house, and where would it be?

The latest idea is that the 5.3 wasn’t an aftershock but a quake on a fault newly opened by the earlier 6.6 quake. The new fault seems to run just under my summer house – I spend the evenings watching the waves and ripples appear on the pool.

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